Some inventory items that are delivered to a location need to be associated with paper records and/or forms. Bar code scanning, RFID labeling and other such technological solutions require equipment to be present at the location of delivery. The costs of providing this equipment in the field may be prohibitive due to the harsh environment such as shop floors, the economics of the area (e.g., third-world countries) or the skill sets of the individuals who are responsible for delivering such items. Sometimes, in case of prescription drugs, pre-packaged units of medications may be kept in a bulk inventory setting and then selected by a technician for delivery to patients or related individuals. The patient information sheets and prescriptions need to be associated with a particular pre-packaged unit of medication. Errors in this association may have grave results to the health of the individual, as evidenced by the large numbers of deaths in this country per year due to a wrong drug reaching a patient.
Current methods for matching rely on oversight by a trained professional to check the package and labeling on the drug unit and the prescription given to a patient; however, this is still susceptible to human error.